An Experience In Humanity: October 2012

I've been in London for nearly a month now. It's been wonderful, and hectic, and taken forever, and gone by so fast all the same time. I'm attending University in Kingston-upon-Thames, a beautiful little ancient borough of South West London. (A little stat for those who worry, it also happens to be the safest and quietest borough in all of London.) I live in the neighboring town of Surbiton, which is not a part of London proper, although there is some confusion and historical debate of Kingston's London jurisdiction - it's technically located in Surrey, the same county as Surbiton.

While the process of finding a flat (for those unfamiliar with UK lingo - an apartment) is a very long, complicated, and dramatic story all it's own, I was able to find a cozy little studio on quiet little avenue in Surbiton, a mere ten minute walk from the University campus. It's a beautiful Victorian mansion conversion with large windows, high ceilings, and detailed crown molding. I moved in just over two weeks ago and have been enjoying the always entertaining if laborious process of furnishing and decorating on a budget. Luckily, between IKEA, the local charity shops (second hand stores), Amazon, and a few already included furnishings I have been able to create a cozy and comfortable little home. There are still a few items I need, but Reza and Aash - an eccentric experienced grandfather and practical business smart young man duo that run an "antique" shop in the nieghborhood - are on the lookout for me.

Reza and Aash are two of my favorite new neighborhood acquaintances. Just yesterday they found me a great deal on a bike and some large picture frames - half of which Reza threw in for the cost of the bike. They usually invite me to stay for tea or coffee, and after explaining why I decline based on religious reasons, Reza has now sent Aash on a quest to purchase non-caffeinated herbal teas and juices so I can stay next time. I think Reza has an agenda with inviting me to stay and chat and trying to convince Aash to carry my purchases home for me...we're usually both red in the face by the end of the sale. I always have an immensely good time doing business with them and will be a little sad when my furnishing project is over. I may have to keep thinking of other random hard to find things I may need, so I have an excuse to stop and haggle... ;)

My program is going well and will be getting quite busy here in a few weeks. Good thing I'm mostly settled. I'm adapting to school again and have had a relatively easy time adjusting to British life. I guess Japan, Haiti, and Ghana were good outlier experiences, making England much less of a leap. (My love for all things Austen and Dickens, as well as old school British comedy probably didn't hurt any either.)

Things I Love, Things I Don't

The History: The palaces (I'm already a member of the Historical Palace Society - free unlimited access to all local historical palaces all year round), the architecture, the gardens, the character and detail on everything. Everything has a story. I could live here the rest of my life and still never see or learn it all. Of course a lot of history also means that everything is old, and drafty, including the plumbing.

Size: I love that everything is smaller - the cars, restaurant servings, grocery and home goods packaging, produce (a strawberry the size of a strawberry, not an apple!). Rooms and homes are also much smaller. I don't mind, as its all relative and smaller is much more my size. :) My only complaint - the kitchen! My flat has, as most do, what is known as a "kitchenette". Basically a closet with a single basin sink, a convection oven microwave, a small double burner stove top, and no counter space. Not ideal for my usual culinary practices, but I'm viewing it as a challenge to master. I already have classmates interested in trying an American Thanksgiving dinner (I'm the only American in my program and it's a very culturally diverse class). Think I can pull of cooking a full on traditional Thanksgiving dinner in a closet? A game plan is already in the works. Bring it on!

The Food: The cuisine here and I are definitely in a love/hate relationship. As mentioned above, smaller portions are on my pros list. I love the breads and outdoor markets and wide variety of international dishes available. I love some pub foods but not others. I adore Sunday roasts and Yorkshire pudding (not pudding in the American sense, but rather a bread - check out the photo of a traditional Sunday roast dinner in my photo collage above), clotted cream, lemon curd, fish and chips, and currant berry teas. Dark chocolate digestives are going to be my downfall. I'm not so much a fan of haggis, or kidney/liver pie, or many of the other meat based concoctions. Pie crust - especially for savory pies - is disappointing and tasteless, as it's just a mixture of four and water formed for the sole purpose of cooking the filling, and is rarely eaten and simply discarded. Sad, as the crisp,flaky, buttery pie crust is my favorite part! I also can't find traditional American style dill pickles...everything here is sweet or bread and butter. Yuck. Pickles should not be sweet.

The Cost: This is also a win/lose situation. Many things are comparative in price to Boston, another expensive cost of living city. Cell phones are cheap and easy to get. Home internet service isn't bad, but is a complicated mess to set up - going on three weeks and I still don't have mine.... International Euro travel is amazingly temptingly cheap, but domestic transport is expensive. (Hence the bike and close proximity to campus). Rent is steep, but comparative to Boston in Surbiton. Stationary - ie paper goods such as pens, post-its, highlighters, etc. - is outrageously expensive! Why? Groceries, home goods, clothes, and other things can be expensive but also affordable. Just like anywhere else, there's a wide variety of stores and shops in a wide price range...you just need to know where to shop!

The Weather: I'm neutral on this point. It's very like Boston, all four seasons in one day, all the time. I have my wellies ready by the door and carry a sweater, an umbrella, and sunglasses in my bag at all times.

No 1 complaint: The lack of my favorite cleaning supplies. Sigh....

No 1 love: I'm living in London! What can I really complain about...

I've done a little sightseeing since arriving - figured I'd fit as much in as I can before school gets busy and the weather becomes unpleasant. I've taken photos of some of my excursions but not all. Partly because I selfishly wanted to absorb and be present in some of my new first time adventures (cameras and photo taking, while fun, can be a bit distracting from the feeling of the moment), and partly because I will be returning to some of these places many times over the course of the next year, and wanted to wait until I was familiar with them and find the best season and time of day for picture taking.

I've been to Hampton Court (no photos yet), which is just across the river from campus, a few times and have done a preliminary scouting tour of downtown London. A more thorough visit to Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, and other downtown attractions are forthcoming. I was hoping to take a tour of Buckingham Palace, which is only open for tours in August and September of each year while the Queen is on holiday in Scotland, but have been so busy with finding a flat, moving, school, and other necessary things that I wasn't able to make it. I guess it will have to wait until next summer. I did take a boat trip up the Thames to Greenwich, to explore the famous Greenwich market and straddle the Prime Meridian Line. I had a wonderful time wandering through the market and sampling all the delicious foods and goods. The made to order dulce de leche filled churros were amazing. I ended up purchasing a vintage British scarf in a very vintage British shop from a vintage British lady as my take home souvenir.

Last weekend I traveled to Oxford to attend a Yule Ball held at the Oxford Bodleian Library (you know the setting for the great hall in the Harry Potter films...yeah, that's it). I strolled through the city center, visited the many university campuses, and spent the soft light of the early evening hours wandering the beautiful paths of Christ Church Meadow. I regrettably did not have my camera with me, as I was spending the day carrying around a black chiffon ball gown and all associated accessories for the evenings festivities, but I did snap a few shots with my phone camera. They don't nearly do justice to the beauty and majesty of the area, but it would be hard to capture, even with advanced equipment. I may have to make another trip, if only to try. On Friday I rented a car and made the trip down to the London LDS Temple. It was a grey and rainy day - not ideal for taking photos, but a wonderful day to spend inside in quite wonder and contemplation.

I've posted some photos below. I haven't included my flat yet, as there is still some work to finish before I document it, but here is a preliminary snapshot of one of my favorite spots in my new little home: